He Never Said Why
by SlytherinsScribe
Summary: Post-war AU, the war took many lives, and there is believed to be only two students in Harry's year that aren't dead or in Azkaban. Of course, it's harder to be a survivor than the dead. Six years later the survivors return to Hogwarts. Slash ABANDONED
1. Chapter 1

He Never Said Why

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything recognizable**

Minerva McGonagall sat in her chair watching as a few other teachers walked into her office: Sibyll Trelawney, Aurora Sinistra, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick and Cuthbert Binns. The six sat around Minerva's desk in late August with heavy hearts. Minerva looked around the table at some of her best friends, "Well, I believe we are all aware you aren't all going to be teaching come September."

Pomona and Filius were retiring, and Binns would no longer be teaching. Although, Binns would remain and haunt the school with the other ghosts, apparently he got along rather well with the Grey Lady. Filius was going East to live out his life with his cousins, and Pomona was going to help raise potions plants for medicinal purposes in America. Aurora looked uneasy, "That's four new staff members, any idea who they are?"

"Yes," Minerva said softly, "The Defense teacher will be Bill Weasley, he has quite a bit of experience from being a curse-breaker at Gringotts. The Herbology teacher will be Angelina Weasley, she had top marks on her NEWTS in the subject. I don't know who the Charms and history teachers are personally, but Mason Reed will be teaching Charms, and Nathen Finch will be teaching History."

"I'm surprised we haven't even heard of those two, Albus usually does a good job of hiring people that are known around Hogwarts." Pomona commented.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to see when they get here, I'm sure they'll be good teachers." Minerva assured them.

"That's what you said about Quirrel, Lockhart, Moody, Slughorn, Devons, Jenkins, Beech, Woodrow, and who could forget Elvin?" Cuthbert said in a detached voice.

Minerva cringed at the memory of the Defense teacher they had two years ago, he wasn't precisely sane after two years in Azkaban for a crime he didn't commit, and had a terrible lisp. After a year of being made fun of by students, he took his life in May. Albus had said he was a perfect candidate for the job, just like all the others. Minerva sighed and looked at her two good friends that were leaving in the morning, "We've been through a lot."

"The Second War, I believe it changed us all, yet we made it out somehow." Filius said, "Though many of our students didn't."

"An entire year of students was practically wiped out, I think Harry and Draco were the only ones that made it out." Sibyll said, "Unless you count the Slytherins in jail, and a couple of the Ravenclaws that went into hiding may still be alive."

"I don't envy those boys though," Pomona spoke up, "They lost everything, it's no wonder that they ran off. It's been six years since anyone's seen them."

"Poor Harry, and the boy's luck had just been turning," Filius said, "I heard that Severus and he were getting along quite well, especially considering the circumstances."

"Ah, the arranged marriage." Aurora noted.

"Harry was willing to do anything to stop Voldemort, no one should be forced into a bond to do something like that. Dumbledore told him the only way he would be strong enough to compete with Voldemort magically was to bind with a stronger wizard." Minerva was talking quietly, her eyes troubled by the memory, "I was there, only a few were. He had just turned sixteen, old enough to bond, and he was told that the only two eligible now that Sirius was dead were Tonks and Severus. When he said Sirius, his face went blank, and said that he would marry Severus so he wouldn't ruin Tonks' relationship with Remus. He didn't show any emotion, good or bad, throughout the entire ceremony."

"Things got better for the couple though, they actually got really close together, though they never consummated the bond." Sibyll added, "Harry seemed to calm that temper of Severus', and Severus was the only thing that kept Harry sane. I remember near the end of his sixth year when Harry came back alone when he had left with Ron to go horcrux hunting. Destroyed locket in his hand, and he was in tears. Severus was the one that spent the whole night calming him down to find out that he had seen Ron tortured to death."

"And again at the end of the year when Bellatrix killed Hermione and Ginny." Sprout noted, "When the deatheaters attacked the school and he ended up stabbing her with one of the swords from the suits of armor. He just stood there staring at the blood on his hands, it was the first time he had killed. Severus just held him after he dropped the sword and fell to his knees."

"He was there for the deaths of Neville, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Hannah, Ernie, Moody, Kingsley, Arthur, Andromeda and so many others." Binns added in his usual monotone voice.

"And Harry comforted Severus after every deatheater meeting, as well as one can comfort a man that's spying on the evil overlord trying to destroy his way of life and kill his husband. " Sibyll noted sadly.

Minerva gave the woman a sharp look before continuing on, "They broke up four days after the war, there was still a celebration going on in the Great Hall and Entrance Hall. In the middle of it Harry walked from the dungeon and out the main door on the verge of tears, and that was the last time we ever saw him. Severus was watching from the door to the dungeon, he said that they had a disagreement and went back to the dungeons."

"Severus told us a couple days later that he doubted that Harry would ever come back." Aurora added, "Severus has never been the same since."

"And Draco left a couple days later," Filius said, "He was mourning, so no one was really keeping tabs on him, and he just left to never be seen again."

"Forced to be a death eater when he was sixteen, watched his parents killed when he failed to kill Dumbledore, rebelled from Voldemort, saw the rest of his house arrested for involvement with Voldemort. He's the only one from his house that isn't in jail, other than Blaise who died in the final battle. I think everyone is surprised he was able to disappear from the magical world, he doesn't know anything about muggles." Minerva sighed as she listed his troubles off.

"Greif causes people to change, and with the grief those two had, their change was bigger than the magical world could contain." Binns said, and everyone stared for a few minutes before looking at the clock and realizing how late it had become. Goodbyes were said, and the teachers dispersed to their own quarters.

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(A/N: I know I made this rated M, but it will be non-graphic slash. So don't get excited. This is actually a fic I found last night that I wrote like six months ago, so I rewrote the first chapter, and I plan on continuing this story. If you're interested, please review.)


	2. Chapter 2

Mason Reed was one of several tenants in a shabby apartment on the Southern edge of London that was moving out today, August twenty-ninth of 2004. He was a young man of twenty-four with chin length black hair that he tucked behind his ears and twirled it around his pointer finger on rare occasions. He had worn colored contacts instead of glasses for the last three years, and none of his current neighbors had seen him before he started wearing the brown contacts. When first meeting him, people thought he was odd for always wearing dark colors, but realized that he was a man with much history and didn't say anything about him.

Mason's schedule had been rather consistent the last five and a half years since he had moved into his flat. Tuesday through Saturday he worked from eleven in the morning to eight at night at a small, but well reputed restaurant as a waiter, which was the only time anyone saw him smile. Sunday he would volunteer at a local orphanage, and Monday he would be seen walking almost aimlessly around town. Saturday nights after work he would go to a pub that only locals could find and sit for nearly two hours as he slowly drank a pint of beer. A regular, mundane schedule that the locals had become so used to it that they never even noticed it anymore.

Thus, many were surprised when Mason had talked to the land lady on the first floor two weeks ago when she was doing laundry to tell her he would be leaving today. When asked why he simply stated that he had accepted a job offer overseas. When he had left the room the land lady sighed at the loss of one of the few tenants that had never made a payment late and never caused a single problem.

Mason looked back at his empty room, his sad excuse for a home. The only thing that had marked it as his was his clothes and a frameless photo that he had kept hidden under his mattress of his old friends, all of which was now in the faded pack he had thrown over his shoulder. He turned and closed the door, hearing the familiar lock move, and then click into place after jiggling the knob. Mason walked down the creaky stairs to the first floor, where he fished out his room key and dropped it on the land lady's desk and walked out of the building, and disappeared.

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Nathan Finch loosened his tie as he walked into his office and slumped into his worn office chair. He had cold grey eyes accented by dark circles, cheeks that were hallowed ever so slightly, and lips that were chapped from talking so much. Not that he talked often when he wasn't at work. His hand absent mindedly combed through his hair, a blonde that had darkened in the last few years and hung just below eye level. He had pulled off wearing suits and ties for his job as a lawyer that he had had for two years, plus his internship. He didn't have spare time, he devoted his life to working himself to death, or so his co-workers told him.

"Hard last day, huh?" His boss said, a man he hadn't met until two weeks ago when he had told him he was quitting. He couldn't even remember his name.

"Yeah, won the case though." Nathan said as he gave up and took the tie off completely.

"I'll make sure you get your check." The boss assured him, "So what's this job you're leaving to go do?"

Nathan held back a laugh, "Teaching at a school overseas."

"Really?" The boss looked skeptical, "Anywhere I'd know of?"

"Probably not." Nathan answered as he opened his briefcase and put his last case file and the remnants of the personal items in his desk inside.

"You've been showing a lot of promise, are you sure you want to leave?"

Nathan got a sad look on his face, "Want to, not especially, but this is something I need to do."

"Whatever you say, Finch." The boss said and walked out.

Nathan checked a pocket in his briefcase, assuring himself that the shrunken bag with his clothes in it was still there. He added his discarded tie and closed the briefcase and locked the snaps into place before turning off the lights in the office and walking out of the door and down the block without looking back in the office that he had spent more time at in the last two years than the flat he had rented two streets away.

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Mason arrived in Hogsmeade via apparation and walked through the village with an almost religious respect as he made his way to the Hogwarts gates and didn't even seem to notice the looks he was getting from the residents. As he entered Hogwarts property he paused, as if unsure if he was willing to proceed. After almost a full minute of looking up at the castle he pushed on to the heavy wood doors that opened with no resistance. He closed the door behind him not realizing he had already been spotted.

"Mr. Reed or Mr. Finch?" Cuthbert Binns asked in a somewhat curious voice.

"Reed," Mason answered, "Do you know where I'm supposed to go?"

"The Great Hall, shall I show you the way?" Binns offered.

"No thank you, I know the way." Mason said and walked down the hall leading to the Entrance Hall, and crossed to the Great Hall. With the same slow precise movements he had been using since his arrival in Hogsmeade, he opened the door to the Great Hall and closed it behind him only to look up and meet many pairs of eyes. He paused and put a small smile on his face and continued through the Great Hall to the small table on the staff problem that all the teachers were sitting around. Dumbledore stood to greet him, holding out his hand, "I am Albus Dumbledore, and you are?"

"Mason Reed, a pleasure to meet you." He shook Albus' hand and in turn was introduced to every member of the staff, after which Severus Snape wondered why everyone thought the newcomer had a strong handshake, to him the man's hand had felt like jelly.

"So, what experience to you have working?" McGonagall asked.

Mason shrugged, "After school I began working at a muggle restaurant in London and have bee working there until a couple days ago, and I've also worked at an orphanage working to improve the reading and writing skills of the children."

"Well, it looks like teaching here shouldn't be much of a problem for you," Sinistra commented, and Mason's smile widened.

"Teaching muggle orphans I expect is very different from teaching kids how to do magic, and probably a bit more hazardous." Mason replied as he took the place that was between Bill and McGonagall.

The rest of the teachers agreed and began talking about accidents they had had in their classes, and other classes while they were teaching. Some were as far back as when the Marauders switching the re'em blood in the school stores with salamander blood, which made the potions too watery and completely ineffective, to the legacy of Seamus Finnegan blowing himself up at every turn. Mason smiled but never truly laughed, no matter how entertaining the story was.

However, they were soon interrupted by the door opening again, and not with half the solemnity that Mason had used. Instead of carefully closing the door, the newcomer casually closed the door with one hand as he walked up the staff table. He looked to Dumbledore, "Nathan Finch, and I assume you are Dumbledore."

Nathan chose to introduce himself to the group, looking odd in his muggle suit, but seemed completely comfortable in the situation. Everyone noticed a slight hesitation when he reached Snape, but his smile grew and went on as if he hadn't, and didn't so much as bat an eye as he greeted Mason. Now that all the teachers for the new year had arrived, talk of the schedules for the new year started to be etched out, and dinner was brought as teachers debated the issue. It was late, and everyone was tired and were showing it in ways, Dumbledore was sitting back in his chair, McGonagall sitting on the edge of her trying to get everyone to agree as soon as possible, Sinistra was started to lose the ability to form sentences, Snape was becoming grouchy and handing out insults, Bill's eyes kept shutting, only for him to blink them a few times and refocus, Angelina was resting her head on her arms that were crossed on the table, Nathan was covering his mouth every minute or so to shield a yawn, and Mason was spacing out.

"Might I suggest we start this again in the morning when we are all able to think properly?" Dumbledore suggested, and everyone quickly agreed and began heading for their quarters. Strangely, none of the new teachers needed help finding their rooms. Well, it was almost expected for Bill and Angelina, but Mason and Nathan declined help when offered. They all wondered, but were too tired to question the two.

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(A/N: Well, I have to say, I was surprised… no amazed at how many favorites lists this story was added to within the first 24 hours alone. Just so you know, I'm currently writing two other stories and taking three honors classes, so posts will hopefully be once a week, it depends how much I get to write each night and which story I decide to write on. For anyone who hasn't read my stories, I love reviews and will be encouraged to choose to write this story if I get reviews.)


	3. Chapter 3

Mason Reed, having kept mostly to his own quarters since the decision on scheduling, sat comfortably in the window seat of his quarters. Flitwick had never used it much in his time, preferring to use it as just another location to store his immense accumulation of books. However, Mason found himself content to hug his knees to his chest and look out the window at the still lake below, trying not to remember the last time he had seen the lake, there had been a dead body floating in it, blood pooling out around the body…

A knock on the door pulled him from his thought and he softly called, "Come in," and straightened himself so he sat with his feet on the floor. Bill hesitantly walked in, unused to the quiet response that he seemed to think he had imagined. Realizing that Mason was fine with his presence, he walked fully into the room.

"Sorry if I bothered you," Bill said, unsure about the quiet man.

"It's no problem, I was just thinking." Mason said with an almost sad look in his eyes, "What can I help you with?"

Bill didn't hear the question, being completely distracted by the bareness of the room. There was a small, faded trunk at the end of the bed, what he assumed was a contact case on the nightstand, and twelve books, seven of which being his text books he was teaching from, four being muggle books he was probably reading for entertainment, and a small black book. Other than that, there was nothing personal in the room. Bill looked up when Mason repeated the question, "Sorry, it slipped my mind for the moment. Is this all of your belongings?"

Bill knew it wasn't the nicest thing to ask, but he couldn't stop himself from being curious. Besides, Mason didn't seem to mind, "Yeah, I haven't felt a need to hold onto nostalgic items."

"You were a teenager during the war, weren't you?" Bill asked, and Mason nodded, "I know people who feel the same way. Like my mother, she lost her husband and her youngest two children. There isn't a trace of them anywhere in the main house, and she's made the old den into her new bedroom so she never has to touch those rooms. You probably lost a lot in the war too."

"Everything," Mason said, just above a whisper, "Family, friends…"

Bill had seen so many people like this after the war, it wasn't rare with all of those that lost their lives. The two shared a silence where both were thinking of the war.

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Nathan had completely transformed the room given to him, it having not been used since Binns' death made it a little out of repair. He was happy with the room, if you stood to the right of the window and squinted you could just make out the quidditch field that was in between the two towers that made the view quite difficult to manage. He was just finishing unpacking his bags as he heard a knock on the door, and opened it himself.

Angelina stood on the other side, seemingly confused that he had opened the door rather than call her in. He beckoned her in, "Sorry, I know that in the wizarding world calling people in is the norm, but I've gotten myself out of the habit."

"Wow, there's a lot of books in here." Angelina replied, noting the three bookshelves in the room stuffed with books.

"Yeah, surprises me every time I see how many there are," Nathan said, "The two on the far wall are both history books that I have collected over the years, the other are my books on law."

"Law?" Angelina asked.

"I was a lawyer in the muggle world. It's always been my second passion." Nathan told her, "Now, what did you come in for?"

"Oh, right, me and Bill were supposed to fetch you and Mason to get ready for the Opening Feast."

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Severus sighed, frustrated that once again the teachers were being organized in some ridiculous way for the feast, when they would never sit in the same spot again over the year. This of course meant that he was stuck sitting between McGonagall and Reed. While the Gryffindor Head of house had been less annoying since the war, she always tried to start a conversation with him that he didn't want to have. Reed, however, was much quieter by nature, a strange boy that Severus could see was a little uncomfortable being next to him. Not surprising really, the new teachers were often weary of his reputation as a grumpy old potions master. He was only forty-five and was starting to call himself old, surely insanity was setting in.

Severus didn't even register Dumbledore's speech until he heard applause: the oldest Weasley had just been announced as the Defense teacher. The Weasleys had grown rather popular since the war, those remaining being the one from Gringotts, the dragon tamer, the Assistant Minister (who would probably be promoted to Minister of Magic by next year), the Twins who were potions masters as well owned five joke shops in four countries, and Molly.

"And as Herbology Professor, we will have Angelina Weasley, who will also have the duties of Head of Hufflepuff." A similar applause greeted Angelina, despite the fact she was head of a house she hadn't been in herself.

"And our new history teacher will be Professor Finch." The blonde man stood, grinning in an arrogant way even though the only clapping he received was out of politeness.

"Finally, our new charms teacher and head of Ravenclaw house, Professor Reed." The quiet man stood with a flat expression and nodded assent to the polite applause before sitting down quickly. Unlike Finch, he wasn't one to thrive in attention.

Countless times through out the meal, Severus noticed how little the man next to him ate. It definitely was an explanation to his size, but he had seen few people eat as little for a meal and was tempted to try to make the man eat more. However, he realized it wasn't his business to worry, and tried his best to ignore the behavior.

After the students were gone, the teachers chatted idly about the students to have an eye on for the year before retiring to their own quarters. Dumbledore handed each of the four heads of houses a stack of schedules to hand out in the morning, Severus was slightly amused to see Reed nearly drop the entire stack before cradling them securely under his arm. He seemed tired, but unlike Finch (who yawned and walked out of the Great Hall first), he waited until about half the other teachers had gone to bed before excusing himself. Severus found this behavior peculiar, and it reminded him of someone, but he couldn't think of the name.

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Mason was up early, and, as per usual, skipped breakfast entirely. Being nervous about his first classes didn't help. So, he went, and sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table where each student would have to pass him, and handed out schedules. It was only after most the kids were in the Hall that the other teachers noticed what he had done and realized what a good idea it was. The Ravenclaw Prefect smiled, "Good thinking, worthy of a Ravenclaw."

Professor Reed smiled, "Thank you, but I wasn't a Ravenclaw."

The Prefect shrugged, but the comment didn't go unnoticed, especially by Professor Finch, who had been walking by the table at the time. He could have sworn the quiet teacher was a Ravenclaw. Reed followed Finch, having finished with the schedules, and sat at the table with nothing more than a strong cup of tea. Finch gave him an odd look, but said nothing.

"It's for the caffeine." Reed said, surprising the blonde.

"hm?"

"You were giving me an odd look, I was simply saying I was only here for the caffeine, hence why I don't have anything to eat." Reed explained, taking a deep drink of his tea.

"Oh," Finch said, unused to unasked questions being answered without prompting. The curse of being a lawyer, "So if you aren't a Ravenclaw, what are you?"

"I was a Gryffindor," Reed replied with a sigh, "But that was a long time ago."

Finch looked at him curiously, but didn't say a word as he finished his meal. Before he was done, Reed had finished his tea and had left the table. Finch watched him leave, somewhat reminded of himself. Admittedly, he had been headstrong as a teenager and arrogant, but as time went on he had changed and was content to settle to a life where he could sometimes pretend that he was the proud pureblood he was a decade ago, even though he knew that wasn't who he really was after the war.

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It had been a week, and McGonagall felt a lot more confident about all the new teachers than she had been over the Summer.

Bill Weasley was, of course, a brilliant teacher who used his own stories that were more than believable to help with his teaching. Then again, despite the fact he was married, the girls all seemed enamored with him. Angelina teased him mercilessly that it was the ponytail that all the girls liked.

Angelina had adopted a very similar vibe to Professor Sprout, making the class almost identical, except for the unexpected bursts of sarcasm and odd euphemisms to Quidditch. She did, and always would, blame Oliver Wood for that.

Nathan Finch had completely changed the History class, focusing a little less on the Goblin wars and making things relevant. Instead of straight lecturing, he had the students do research and discuss and even played games. Finch was often described as being full of energy and was able to capture and keep the attention to the class.

Mason Reed, however, was the opposite. His classes were organized, but tended to be more quiet. His classroom was basically empty, him having cleared out all the desks and books, and the students stood during class. Reed himself was calm, and had been able to earn respect by showing his classes little tricks that were intricate and hard to master.

Although, McGonagall had to admit that Finch and Reed worried her. Finch was greatly concerned with both Snape and Reed, and could be caught staring at them during meals. Reed would space out be in an entirely different world for long periods of time with a forlorn look on his face. It was odd, but the quirks were minor compared to some previous staff members.

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(A/N: Alright, I know it's been a while, but I have about three hours of homework a night and decided long ago that homework comes first. I'll update when and as soon as I can. I'm sure I'll find time for it. Please review!)


	4. Chapter 4

September had passed quickly, all the teachers having rather easy classes with general smoothly flowing days, and other than the minor behavior problems that were to be expected of students, nothing went particularly wrong. This lasted through mid-October when the old legacy of Hogwarts caught up with them once again. Halloween was, in general, an unlucky day among wizards: the infirmary was always busy, superstitious students were being overly conscious and scaring each other, and odd occurrences tended to come up. Such as Peeves returning (he had left Hogwarts soon after the final battle, finding the place far too depressing), people claimed to see war heroes that died in the war, and every once in a while a first year would disappear until the next Monday. Although, for the last one, they were pretty sure it was due to a Gryffindor tradition.

This year, Halloween fell on a Saturday, which was probably good, seeing as Mason Reed was no where to be found. The school had been searched by a few of the teachers who wished for his help with the decorations for the dance that evening, and his quarters had been searched as well (he said anyone was welcome in there and never locked the door). It was Finch that eventually decided to venture outdoors, realizing that despite the current lightning storm and the sudden torrential downpour, the quiet teacher may have decided to brave the weather.

Nathan through a heavy robe on and hoped that warming spells would keep him well enough as he searched. He slipped out the front door and decided to look near the lake first, and ignored the rain that had him soaked as he went to the iconic tree by the lake. They had recently put a couple benches under the tree to make students more comfortable. As Nathan got closer, he saw the unmistakable shape of a person on one of those benches, and the closer he got, the more he saw that Mason was watching him approach.

"What are you doing out here?" Mason asked from the bench, his dark eyes curious.

"Looking for you, as most the staff has been doing all morning." Nathan said casting a drying charm on himself before joining Mason on the bench, "What are you doing out here anyway?"

"Thinking,"

"That's what you always say," Nathan said, and it was true enough, the vague answer had been used almost every time that Mason had been caught staring off into space, "What are you thinking about?"

"My parents, they were killed on Halloween, it was also the day I got married." Mason said looking off over the water as it was lit up by lightning hitting the ground somewhere far off.

"Really?" Nathan said realizing how personal the question turned out to be. I suppose your wife was killed as well."

"Two things, first of all, husband." Mason said, his tone showing he was obviously used to saying that, "Secondly, he's not dead. We just… aren't together anymore. It's complicated."

"Did he leave you?" Nathan asked, used to knowing everything about his side of the case, and his work with divorce cases didn't help his questioning.

"Neither of us really left the other, although I was the one to walk out." He shifted uncomfortably, "Whys were never really explained. What about you, you ever gone out with anyone?"

Nathan laughed, "No, the only person I ever fell in love with was already with someone else."

"Tough luck," Mason said and turned to face Nathan, "Guy or Girl?"

"Guy," Nathan said and he couldn't help but smile, "I've never told anyone I was gay before."

"It's not an easy thing to do, I haven't told anyone since me and my husband separated." Mason said, "Now, I suppose there was a reason everyone has been looking for me?"

"No, we've just been trying to find you for fun, it's a game of sorts." Nathan smirked and Mason gave a big smile, "We're decorating the Great Hall and needed your help."

Mason stood and stretched in the shelter of the tree, "We shouldn't keep them waiting, then."

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Over the next month and a half, Mason and Nathan tended to talk to each other quite often. It was by no means a strong friendship, but it showed the rest of the staff that it was possible for Mason to be talkative. However, the man was not exactly happy, and no one had heard him laugh, just smile with sad eyes. He did seem to be in happier spirits since arriving at the school, and Nathan always seemed to be in a good. Though quiet comments from Mason made the staff think that perhaps Nathan wasn't quite the cheerful man that everyone thought he was.

It was mid-December and McGonagall was taking down the names of students staying at school over winter break as Nathan and Mason were watching over the afternoon study hour in the Great Hall that many students were taking advantage of seeing that it was the week before mid-term exams. As Nathan returned from helping a student remember the exact date of one of the goblin wars, he sighed, "McGonagall's already taken down fourteen names."

"Wow, she only started the list this morning," Mason looked a little surprised.

"It's a shame that some kids don't go home for Christmas." Nathan said sitting down. Mason's head spun so he was staring at Nathan with an unusual look on his face, but it took Nathan a while to notice, and he couldn't figure out what he had done to deserve such an intense stare, "What?"

"Are you going to finish that sentence?" Mason asked, his voice low and accusing.

Nathan thought for a moment, "What are you talking about?"

"I find it awfully strange that you don't remember. 'It's a shame that some people don't go home for Christmas, their parents must not want them.'" Mason said, "I thought there was something familiar about you."

Nathan recognized the sentence now, and remembered that he had said it – thirteen years ago. Moreover, he only remembered five people hearing him back then, and four of them he knew were dead and the other looked vastly different from the man next to him, "Harry?"

The man raised an eyebrow, "I think that's the first time you've ever called me by my first name Draco."

"But your eyes…" Draco was a little confused by the dark eyes and the long hair.

Harry raised his right hand to his left eye and, using his middle and pinky fingers to hold the eye open, took a contact out with his ring finger. He lowered his hand and looked at Draco, one eye brown, the other the vibrant green he was famous for. All too soon, the contact was returned and Harry was frowning. A student was calling his name and Harry walked away without a word. Draco waited for him to return when he was done with the student, but the man walked out of the Great Hall without so much as looking back at him.

McGonagall had watched them talking at the table, and had noticed who she saw as Professor Reed storm out of the hall. She walked over to Professor Finch, "What happened? I've never seen him react like that to anything."

Draco knew that if he revealed Harry he would have to reveal himself as well, and neither of them wanted to be outed, so he lied, "I said something he didn't agree with, it's my fault though. What I said was insensitive."

Minerva sighed, "Well, I do hope that you apologized to him."

"He never gave me the chance, but I will try and do so after the study period." Draco looked at his watch, twenty minutes to go. Minerva walked away, apparently content with his answer. How was he going to fix this? He didn't even know what he'd done wrong to anger Harry, much less why both him and Harry decided to return to Hogwarts at the same time.

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(A/N: I'm sure many of you had already figured out who Finch and Reed were. Anyway, this is where things get a little complicated.)


	5. Chapter 5

Dumbledore had noticed the argument going on between Finch and Reed for the past week and a half. Finch seemed to be trying to apologize for whatever had happened, but Reed had not allowed him to. Furthermore, he hadn't talked outside of his classes since the incident that brought on the disagreement. It was beginning to become a larger problem, so he had sent someone with Finch in order to make sure that some progress was made between the two men.

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Bill was leading a reluctant Nathan Finch to Reed's quarters with a firm grip on his shoulder. Nathan rolled his eyes, "He isn't going to listen to me. The last six times I've tried he's completely ignored me."

"Don't care, you to are going to make up whether you want to or not." Bill said as the door came into sight.

"Is it really possible to force someone to forgive someone else?" Nathan asked, but was ignored as Bill opened the door and forced him in and closed the door behind them. Mason was sitting in the window correcting exams and looked up at the two of them. Bill picked up a chair, set it in front of the door, and sat down.

"By Dumbledore's orders, no one leaves until you two are getting along again." Bill announced.

Mason looked completely unaffected by the statement and went back to his work.

"Will you at least tell me why you're mad at me?" Nathan asked.

Mason corrected the last few exams before setting them down, "I don't think I should have to explain myself to you."

"I don't want to fight with you, I just want to know what I did wrong so I can apologize and not do it again." Nathan said, and after two minutes of silence as Mason got up and put the exams in piles to pass back after vacation, and then went back to sitting in the window making no effort to talk. Nathan was more than a little annoyed by this, "Why won't you talk to me."

Mason stood again, "You really want to know why? Fine." The words were shouted, "You are the first person I've allowed myself to become friends since the war, and I find that you're some snot-nosed arrogant boy that I hated back in school and were in love with my husband. I'm having a hard enough time dealing with being here again, and now that you know about me, I keep thinking that you'll use that information just as you would have when we were in school. Why _would_ I talk to you?"

Nathan and Bill were both still staring at him after he finished yelling at Nathan. Mason was far from being calm and moved towards the door, and Bill tried to stop him, but with a wandless spell, levitated him to the side and left, slamming the door behind him. It was silent for a moment, while both the boys recovered from Mason's outburst.

"Bloody hell, I never knew him to have a temper." Bill said, breaking the silence.

"He always has." Nathan replied quietly.

"I thought you two didn't know each other."

"Well, turns out that neither of us are using our real names."

"Who are you then, and who's he?" Bill asked.

"I'm not ready for anyone to know who I am, and I really doubt he'd want me to tell you who he is." Nathan said leaving the room, "I'll try to think of a way to make him at least hate me less."

Bill found himself alone in the room and swore, "Dumbledore's not going to be happy about this."

0000000000000000

Mason wasn't seen until the next afternoon at Christmas dinner, and was an hour late for that wearing a black muggle dress shirt and matching slacks. While he was offered food, he declined, preferring to have coffee with a candy cane in it. He listened to conversation, but made no move to join at any point. He allowed a small smile, as the talk was cheerful, mostly concerned about some of the past Christmas parties, learning some of the more secret stories about the teachers being affected by alcohol.

It wasn't until they reached the year that the basilisk had been around (in which Gilderoy Lockhart had proudly proclaimed himself to be unaffected by alcohol before promptly passing out) that Mason realized they were going in chronological order and perked up to listen a little more contently.

"And then in 1993 Aurora and Flitwick were up until four in the morning drinking and discussing the uses of dragon blood and couldn't remember the twelfth to save their lives," McGonagall said smiling, knowing that due to the fact that Bill, Angelina and Severus didn't drink, and doubted that the two newcomers did, that this year would have a rather lame story.

"1994 Moody made a huge deal about leaving the Yule Ball in favor of the staff party, and then began spouting off how someone could have poisoned the food and killed off everyone," Sibyll said, "Of course, that wasn't really Moody."

Nathan watched as Mason tensed as Dumbledore continued, "1995 was the year the war began, and Deloris Umbridge was present. I distinctly remember Fred and George getting the elves to add some sort of sedative to her food, and then drawing on her face with a pen. Crude, but effective."

"And then three days after Harry and Ron went to go retrieve Riddle's locket…" Bill trailed off, everyone knew how that sentence ended.

"At least it was a Weasley, there's never a shortage of them." Severus said with the only smile he ever showed. That was the only reason he ever got away with saying something like that; it was the only time he ever showed a positive emotion. Most gave soft laughs, or simply made a small smile, though Bill was trying awfully hard to make his convincing.

Mason, however, was not amused and all but slammed his coffee and moved to leave the room, but not before the potions master, who was sitting closest to the door, grabbed his arm, "I meant it only as a joke, I'm sorry if you were offended Mr. Reed."

"Yeah, joking about people who died painful and bloody deaths is hilarious," He retorted, pulling his hand from Severus' grip, "Who next? How about Hermione, or Ginny, or Hannah Abbott? Hannah was torn to pieces by Fenrir, isn't that funny?"

"No, Mr. Reed, it's not, you've made your point. I apologize." Severus said, raising his voice a little, "Now sit down."

"Fine, _Sev,_" The nickname was said like a curse and he sat in his seat again, ignoring the looks he was receiving from the rest of the table for using the nickname.

"What did you just call me?" Severus demanded.

Mason thought back over his previous words before his shoulders slumped, "Shit, shit, shit… I called you Sev."

It was silent for a moment, most people in the room not understanding what was going on, and Severus finally asked, "You aren't Harry, are you?"

Everyone turned to the black haired man who replied by nodding and taking his contacts out, putting them in a case he pulled out of his pocket. He looked around the room with his green eyes revealed, "Yeah, it's me, sorry for ruining your Christmas party."

With that he tried walking out of the room for a second time, this time with success as Severus was too shocked to do anything more than watch him leave. Not an open mouthed stare, his lips were pursed into a stern frown as he watched with mild interest. Nathan was the only one that hadn't reacted to the news, and everyone's eyes slowly turned to him and he stood up when he felt their eyes on him.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," He said quietly and turned to leave when he heard Bill call his name, and turned to him.

"So that's what you two were fighting about, you found out his true identity?" Bill asked.

"He knew who I was before I knew who he was." Draco replied and looked to the floor as he turned to leave again, and this time was followed by Severus. Draco thought his was going to his own quarters, and was shocked when he was followed upstairs.

"Draco, could I talk to you?" The man asked halfway up the slight of stairs.

"Sure, my office?" Draco said, and bit his lip as he waited for an answer.

"Yes," Severus said, and the rest of the walk to Draco's office was in silence.

Draco opened the door and Severus walked in without a word and stood by the desk as Draco closed the door, but couldn't muster the courage to look him in the eyes. He sighed, "What did you want to talk about?"

-

(A/N: Alright, call me stupid if you want, but I'm not entirely sure what the following talk will include, so if you have any questions about the story so far, send them in a review and I'll see if I can include them in the next chapter. If you don't have any questions, review anyway, because it will make me more willing to work on fanfiction after three hours of homework.)


	6. Chapter 6

Severus hadn't talked yet, Draco could only imagine he was trying to find the words to ask whatever he wanted to know, or trying to decide what he wanted to know first. It was after what felt like an eternity that Severus finally spoke, "Why did you come back?"

Draco flinched at the question, "I heard Hogwarts was looking for a History Professor and decided to take the job."

"So you chose to be a teacher rather than be a lawyer, that doesn't seem much like a Malfoy." Severus commented.

"You think I'm that concerned about money?" Draco asked, finally looking his godfather in the eyes, "I was an abuse lawyer, I wanted to help people. Money hasn't mattered to me for years. I came here because it felt right. Obviously, it was a poor decision on my part."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Severus sighed, looking out the window.

"Why did you follow me instead of Potter?" Draco asked, "After all, you were married to him for over a year."

Severus' face hardened, "Yes, I was married to him, but you need to remember that he left me. Besides, how would you suggest I find him?"

It was true, but Draco could no longer stop himself from asking, "Why did he leave?"

"He never said why." Severus had a sad look in his eyes, as he looked out at the snow, but his gaze slowly moved back to his godson, "You never said why you left either."

Draco averted his eyes again as he sat on his desk, resolving not to answer the implied question. Severus' eyes followed him as he sat down and put the knuckle of his pointer finger in his mouth, a habit that Draco had returned to for some fifteen years. Had Severus not been his godfather he wouldn't have known that this was Draco's way of showing he had a secret that he was afraid he was going to tell someone. Several small voices in Severus' head argued for a minute before one won out, and Severus joined his godson sitting on the desk, "What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Draco said, his knuckle never really leaving his mouth.

"Bullshit," Severus said, and Draco's head snapped towards him, not used to hearing that kind of language from him, "Your finger's bleeding."

Draco pulled the finger from his mouth to see well-defined tooth marks and blood was beginning to ooze out of the far side, and he could taste the faint copper of blood. He sighed, "Well, it seems that it is."

"Give me your hand," Severus said holding out his own, a little surprised when Draco laid his bleeding hand in his larger palm willingly. A simple charm had healed the small wound, and rubbed his thumb over the healed wound to ensure it had healed correctly. An old habit from being a field medic. He looked back to Draco to find the man looking away from him so he couldn't even see his face.

"You didn't answer my question," Snape reminded the blonde, "What's bothering you?"

It's… I don't know. Or… I'm not really ready to tell anyone. Merlin knows enough has happened in the last week, I don't need to add to it now." Draco said, lifting his finger halfway to his mouth again before realizing what he was doing.

"I'll let it be for now, but you will tell me eventually," Severus stated, and Draco knew he would. Severus was always one to get the information he wanted, Draco wouldn't even put it past him to spike his drinks with veritiserum in order to get it out of him should Draco be stubborn about not telling him. And Draco had no intention of telling him. Ever. The silence drug on for what seemed like forever, until Severus spoke, "Nathan Finch? That's the best you could come up with?"

"It's not that bad of a name." Draco said defensively.

"And what was wrong with using your real name?" Severus asked.

"In the muggle world at college? Are you insane? Draco is not precisely a muggle name, and Malfoy has all sorts of puns to go with it when taking classes with people have studied rudimentary Latin. Choosing a muggle name seemed like a much better option than to suffer the ridicule of my classmates." Draco said quickly and precisely.

"So you chose Nathan Finch?" Severus deadpanned.

"Well, yeah…"

"How did you come up with the name?"

"Uh…" Draco sighed before quietly admitting, "Google."

It was silent for a moment before Severus asked, "What the hell is google?"

"It's a search engine." Draco replied, and could see by the look on his godfather's face that those words may as well have been 'unprolonged aciduric prehandicap', which may have something to severe handicaps due to being temporarily exposed to acid before birth, but no one really knows. Anyway, Draco went on to try to explain the internet to Severus, "It's like the world's largest library, and you can put a word into a search engine and find the information you want faster."

Severus nodded in understanding before getting a curious look on his face, "So, what did you put in to get back out the name Nathan Finch?"

"Lawyers. Nathan D. Finch is a lawyer in America. I just stole his name, except for the middle name, I made up my own." Draco said, slightly proud of the last part.

"And what would that middle name be?" Severus asked, seemingly amused.

"Kalle," Draco was looking across the room at no particular spot with something close to a smile on his face, "It means free."

"You put a lot more into that name than I expected. I assume that's why you decided to keep it even after returning to Hogwarts." Severus commented.

"Actually, no it's not." Draco argued.

"It isn't?"

"I kept my fake name because I wasn't really ready to have people know who I am and expect me to be the arrogant teenager I was before the war." Draco said, "Without the name, people don't have any expectations of how I act, it allows me to be me for once in my life."

"You don't act like you were, even at the end of the war." Severus said and glanced around the book shelves in the room, "And I never expected you to be such a book lover."

"I was never allowed to be." Draco said, "I thought you of all people would know that certain truths had been drilled into my head since birth, one of which was praising pureblood heritage, another was to join the ministry and be extremely influential, another was to build up a reputation as someone born with knowledge, rather than make myself a slave to books. I know I took my parents' deaths hard, but it was liberating to be able to breathe for once and start being myself."

"Is that why you left after the war, you were becoming yourself, but everyone still had preconceived notions about you?"

"Uh, sure, let's go with that." Draco readily agreed, hoping to escape an actual explanation, and was glad when he saw Severus brush off the subject.

"So, how did Harry figure you out?" Severus asked instead, and Draco readily accepted the easier question.

"I said something similar to what I said during first year, and he recognized it and got me to admit who I was, told me who he was, and then left the room. I haven't had a real conversation with him since." Draco sighed, "Apparently he thinks that because I didn't tell him who I was that I can't be trusted and is mad that I let him confide in me."

"What all did he tell you?" Severus asked curiously.

"Not much, just vague things. Saying he didn't feel like a Gryffindor anymore, flashbacks of his wedding on Halloween. He said you two split up, I asked why, he just said that it was complicated." Draco said, "I can't believe I didn't realize it was him sooner."

"None of us did, and you weren't married to him for a year, how do you think I feel?" Severus said in his Defense, "Besides, the war changed him. Other than yelling when he was angered by things that would anger anyone in his position, he has been far too quiet."

"I agree. He also isn't happy." Draco said, and Severus looked a little confused, "I know he seems happy, he quietly jokes and smiles, but when was the last time you heard him laugh?"

Severus thought back, "December 29, 1997."

Draco blanched for a moment, "I wasn't looking for an actual date, but you get my point. He's pretending to be happy, but can't bring himself to be. I'm still not sure why, but I think it has something to do with why he left."

0000000000000000

"How come I'm not surprised that you're up here in the snow?" Bill said as he walked over to Harry, who was currently perched on the ledge of the Astronomy tower on a small spot that he had cleared off for himself.

"Because you know me better than just about anyone else." Harry replied.

"What about Severus?" Bill said and Harry's unfocused green eyes shifted to him.

"If that were the case, why isn't he here?" Harry asked, seemingly unworried about his feet dangling over the edge.

"You sure you're not going to fall?" Bill questioned, and Harry snorted.

"If I had planned on killing myself, I would have done it in the six years that I was living alone in a shit neighborhood in London where no one would have realized I was dead for three days if I planned things right." Harry sighed, "I ruined Christmas, didn't I?"

"Not at all, I think that everyone took you being revealed as a present of a sort. You should have seen the look on McGonagall's face." Bill said, "And Dumbledore was going to announce that you were Reed, I have never heard Angelina threaten someone like that, and a couple of people backed her up. Me included."

"Thanks for that," Harry said, "I just wanted to come back and teach in the one place I've ever called home. I hadn't expected anyone to say anything as tasteless as that."

"I know Harry, no one told you it was something Snape's allowed to say because it's the one time he smiles every year." Bill explained, "So what's with the fake name?"

"I'm twenty-four, I sure as hell don't want to be called the-_boy_-who-lived. Besides, I'm not exactly proud of what I've done, I don't want to be famous for it. People will obviously praise whoever they see as a savior, so the only option I saw was to become someone who wasn't their savior." Harry told him.

"How did you come up with the name Mason Reed?"

"It was the name of a kid in my class when I went to muggle school. He was one of the few kids that didn't pick on me. I couldn't come up with anything else." Harry shrugged, "So, Sev really only smiles once a year?"

"Yeah, he's bloody miserable." Bill said exasperated, "He doesn't really show any emotion anymore, and, despite the fact we all thought it was impossible, he's even meaner than he was before."

"You mean that he's mean now." Harry corrected, "He wasn't mean before. Just misunderstood and non-communicative."

Bill gave him a look, "You left him six years ago and you're still standing up for him?"

"He's a good person, and someone has to. I don't care if he's my ex-husband. Everyone deserves some level of respect." Harry justified himself.

"If you're so willing to stand up for him, why did you leave him in the first place?" Bill said, realizing afterwards that it probably wasn't the nicest thing to say to a man who had already ruined a Christmas Party and been discovered as a runaway husband.

"Because," Harry shrugged, "I was upset about the war, frustrated, and beyond that things get complicated."

"You should talk to Snape," Bill said.

"You think he's going to accept me that easily?"

"I'm just saying, you're not happy, he's really not happy. Maybe if you talk things over you two could at least be friends." Bill suggested.

Harry sighed, "Fine, but he has to come talk to me."

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(A/N: Well, I have to say I'm sorry for the long wait on posting. My internet died right after I finished the first part(which was supposed to be it's own chapter) so I decided to write the second part, and it wasn't done, so this got delayed a day. I'm really stressed with schoolwork, and could really use reviews to cheer me up, so please review!)


	7. Chapter 7

Harry sighed as he returned to his rooms three days after Christmas, having successfully avoided Severus for yet another day. Sure, he had told Bill he would hear Severus out if he came to him, but that didn't exactly mean he was going to allow it that easily. Besides, he was the Chosen one again, so he had to talk with McGonagall and Dumbledore and current Minister of Magic and the school board and many other people that he had to talk to just because, in his mind, he was a celebrated murderer. Probably the person he had enjoyed talking to the most was McGonagall, who he had spent four hours talking to and had to reschedule his meeting with the Minister because of.

He got to his rooms and opened the door with yet another sigh, only to find there was someone sitting on his bed. Of course, it had to be the number three person on his list of people he didn't want to deal with at the moment (one and two were the minister and Severus), "Oh, hi Draco."

"You don't sound too happy about me being here," Draco said, it was not a question.

"I had been expecting to go to bed, it's not that I'm not happy to see you, I'm just tired." Harry responded, taking off his cloak to get more comfortable.

"You've also been avoiding me," Draco accused, "Severus and I both."

"I've had a lot of people to talk to, now that I'm the boy-who-lived again." Harry replied, taking his usual seat in the window.

"No, you just don't want to deal with us, which is why you're avoiding me, and more importantly Severus. He doesn't even know why you left him, the two of you need to figure this out." Draco's voice was rising, and Harry could tell that he was in lawyer-mode.

"I find it strange that you, of all people, would want me and Severus to get back together." Harry said critically, and Draco's face fell.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"If I did, I wouldn't have asked you."

"Or you just think that you're too good of an actor for anyone to figure you out." Harry suggested, "I don't know if anyone else knows, but I know you like Severus."

Draco faltered, "Well, he's my godfather, of course he's a friend of mine."

"Yes well, that's not the kind of like I'm talking about," Harry said with a bitter smile spreading across his face, "You love him, you do know, and you did while I was married to him."

"I did not!" Draco yelled.

"Then why did you not talk to him for a month after our marriage?" Harry asked, and Draco couldn't answer, so he continued, "Why did you wait for him to come back from a mission after switching sides in the war? Why were you always staring at him whenever you thought no one was looking? Why did you take a crucio that was aimed at him during the final battle?"

"Fine," Draco said, stopping him from going further, "I fell in love with him fifth year, never had the guts to act on it, and then he got married to you. End of story."

"No it's not," Harry argued, "When I left after the war was over, you supposedly left a couple days later. Did you talk to him during those two days?"

"Yes." Draco answered shortly.

"And let me guess, he was only concerned about me, wasn't he?" Harry barely waited for Draco to nod before continuing, "That's why you left, isn't it? You had hoped that with me gone he may start liking you."

"Yeah, and you know what he did, he cried, he cried because of you and I realized that he would never be as happy with me as he was with you. So I left, because I couldn't stand being here when I could only focus on him moping about you. So I left, and when I came back, I thought I could deal with it as long as he didn't know who I was, and now he does." Draco finally admitted.

"Then why don't you tell him you love him?" Harry asked.

"Because he still loves you." Draco said, "And as long as he's happy, I think I can deal with this. So, will you go have dinner with him tomorrow night, at least talk things over?"

Harry thought it over for a minute, "Fine, but I won't promise that anything will happen."

"You're trying, that at least counts for something." Draco said as he stood and left the room.

Harry heard the door close and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "I'm going to regret this."

-

(A/N: Sorry for the delay, my life is growing increasingly hectic. Please review!)


	8. Chapter 8

_**As a student, Harry had never liked the dungeons, which had faded slowly once he was married to Severus, but never completely gone away. And tonight, that fear seemed determined to make him come up with excuses on to go have dinner with Severus. He even briefly considered using one of Fred and George's products to incapacitate himself, throwing the thought away after realizing that he had tried the same thing the day he moved in with Severus. He always seemed to know when some sort of joke shop merchandise was involved. **_

_**In all truth, he had decided not to take the meeting seriously, and hadn't bothered to dress up as Draco had told him he should earlier that day. He wore a pair of jeans with holes in the knees (he had fallen off a bike while going on a trip with the orphans) and a black sweat shirt that looked to be a size too big. He also managed to be a few minutes late, it being 7:03 when he finally knocked on the door to what used to be the rooms he and Severus shared.**_

_**Severus opened the door wearing black slacks and a dark green dress shirt, from experience Harry knew that wearing color was his way of dressing up. He seemed to want to criticize Harry's clothes, but stopped himself, "I wasn't sure you were coming, but I guess I should be used to you showing up just after the time you were asked."**_

"_**Perhaps I wouldn't be so late if everyone stopped saying it was fashionable." Harry shot back shortly as he walked through the door, Severus closed it behind him.**_

_**Harry knew Severus well enough that he didn't have to turn around to know that the man was rolling his eyes. Looking around the room only confirmed that Severus hadn't changed a bit in the last six years. Same three rooms, the door to the bathroom tapped shut, the bedroom fully closed, and the dining room and study filled with dark colors. He even still had the photo of the two of them on their wedding day that neither of them had wanted, but he had kept anyway. The table was, of course, already set with the two place settings at the head and foot of the table, which was thankfully rather small. He'd had a similar dinner with the minister at the end of the war to discuss the new actions of the ministry, and it was terrible.**_

_**Harry didn't allow Severus to pull his chair out for him, as the man had clearly intended to do, and sat in what had been his spot while living here more than six years ago. He looked down at his glass and smled when he saw it was juice, "You remembered."**_

"_**You think I could forget that you don't drink alcohol? I was there when you nearly drank yourself to death." Severus replied as he sat down, and after they had been eating for several minutes he asked, "How did Draco convince you to come tonight?"**_

"_**He made me feel bad for him. Well, actually, I nearly made him cry, and I came here to make him feel better." Harry responded.**_

"_**You nearly made him cry?"**_

"_**Yeah, I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he didn't feel much like a Slytherin anymore. The Draco Malfoy I went to school with would never had broken that quickly." He looked Severus in the eye, "But we aren't here to talk about Draco, now, are we?"**_

"_**No," Severus said after another bite, "I would like to know why you left."**_

" _**I had no reason to stay," Harry said, and went back to eating as if that was the whole reason.**_

"_**What's that supposed to mean? You should have stayed to finish school, to be with the remaining Weasleys, to help the magical world heal after Voldemort, and what about me?" Severus asked, raising his voice.**_

"_**I had already taken my NEWTs, so there was no point in staying in school, though few people knew it at the time, Molly vehemently blamed me for the deaths of her husband and children and the other Weasleys weren't ready to deal with me left, I was being used as a political tool rather than actually helping the wizarding world, and…" Harry hesitated and brushed a stray hair from his face as he thought, "And you were giving me the distinct impression that you didn't want me around anymore."**_

_**Both of them were silent for a minute as Severus looked like he was confused, "What would make you think I didn't want you?"**_

"_**I was aware of the fact that we only got married to defeat Voldemort, and that's why we didn't consummate the bond, because we never foresaw a relationship and didn't want to be stuck with each other the rest of our lives. So when I thought we had fallen in love, and you never said you loved me or suggested we complete the bond, I was concerned." Harry paused for a moment, "And then after the war, you kept on talking about being free, I thought you meant free to break up with me."**_

"_**Harry, I meant free from Voldemort." Severus said softly, "I know I never said it, but I was in love with you."**_

"_**Then why did you never say that?"**_

"_**Because I thought you wouldn't want to spend your life with a man that was old enough to be your father." He replied.**_

"_**Actually, you're older than him by three months, but that's not the point," Harry said, "I fell in love with you, age doesn't matter to me as long as you love me too."**_

"_**So you left because you thought I didn't love you, and I let you leave because I thought you didn't love me." Severus stated, and Harry nodded sadly, "Then, would you be opposed to starting this whole thing over and being my boyfriend?"**_

_**Harry smiled, "I suppose it couldn't hurt, but on one condition."**_

"_**And that would be?"**_

"_**Sitting next to each other instead of on opposite ends of the table."**_

_**Severus sighed and stood up, "I guess I can live with that." The two moved around the table so they were sitting next to each other and talked quietly for the rest of dinner.**_

_**-**_

_**(A/N: Well, now that things have been sorted out here, they'll get more complicated next chapter. Please review!)**_


	9. Chapter 9

"What the hell are you doing?" Harry said when he got back to his rooms only to find Draco sitting on his bed looking a little nervous.

"I wanted to know how things went with you and Severus," Draco replied with an oddly sad and hopeful mix of emotions on his face.

"It's one in the morning, get the hell out of my room." Harry said in a cross voice, he was too tired to be dealing with this, "And for your information, we're dating."

"Oh," Draco said as he stood, the sadness slowly spreading across his face, "I should let you get some sleep now."

Harry frowned as Draco passed him, something about Draco's tone hitting him in the same place as whenever he ran into an orphan that had been subject to abuse. He sighed knowing that he wasn't going to be able to help but stop Draco, "Don't leave."

Draco stopped with his hand on the door and turned to face Harry, "What?"

Harry turned to him, "You aren't okay with this, say what you want, but I know how you're feeling. You wanted me and Severus to decide that we were too different to date, or find some other reason not to go out with each other. You're kidding yourself if you say otherwise."

"Why do you even care?" Draco asked, "Didn't you hate me when we were in school?"

"I think we would both agree that the school versions of ourselves don't exist any more. Besides, I couldn't sleep if I tried, and I'm exhausted. Tell me you would be able to sleep, and I'll let this go, but we both know that isn't the case." Harry said, and when Draco didn't respond, he grabbed his wrist and gently drug him to the bed until they were both sitting, and Harry took his shoes off and got comfortable before looking at Draco expectantly.

"Why wouldn't you be able to sleep?" Draco asked.

"I'm scared, I lost everyone I loved before, and no matter how impossible I tell myself it is, I keep thinking that it will happen again. Also, I can't help but think that there's something wrong with me being happy making you so miserable. So talk." Harry said.

"About what?"

"What you're thinking, Severus, what the ideal situation would be for you. If you don't want to, than just say anything you need to get off your chest." Harry laughed, "I finally get to use that online psychology degree I got."

Draco just sat and thought for a full minute before talking, "I've known Severus my whole life, I used to spend a lot of time with him, he was at almost every holiday when I was growing up. It was about fifth year when I realized that the way I liked him wasn't entirely platonic. One day I just kind of realized I was checking him out during potions and I freaked out. I skipped dinner that night and wrote home to dad about it, just to see what he thought."

"What did he say?" Harry asked.

"He didn't reply for three days, claimed that it was because he needed to think about how to best address this touchy subject." Draco laughed to himself, "He said that while he had no problem with my sexual orientation, to be very careful when telling mother. He also said that as long as he talked to Severus before we dated and after I'd talked to Sev, that he would be fine with the relationship on one more condition. I had to have already graduated."

"That would explain why you had never said anything before we got married." Harry said quietly.

"After that, I decided to wait out the war, hoping that the relationship was strictly to defeat Voldemort. I was wrong." Draco was quiet for a moment as he closed his eyes, "And now… I'd rather him be happy with you."

"But would that really make you happy?" Harry asked.

Draco resigned himself to the fact that Harry wasn't letting this go any time soon, and slid his shoes off as he leaned back onto the bed with his eyes closed, "I guess not."

"Then what would make you happy? Not what would make everyone else happy, what would make Draco happy." Harry said, unconsciously carding his fingers softly through Draco's hair.

"To be with Sev," Draco said, his eyes opening to stare at the ceiling without focusing, "For the war to have never happened, to confess to him at the end of our last term, him accept me, and after a probably awkward and threatening talk from my father, and calming my mother when she went hysterical, to move in with Sev and to have been the History teacher then."

"At least you know where you'd be without the war. I'd probably be playing quidditch and be married to some fangirl." Harry said sadly, just noticing how tired he was.

"What about Weaselette?" Draco asked, which was followed by a yawn, probably caused by the hypnotizing motion of the hand in his hair.

"We did date for a while, but when she died she was dating some Ravenclaw boy, and they were perfect for each other. Besides, I was dating Ginny when I realized I wasn't really into girls."

"Sucks to be you, Potter." Draco said, as he drifted off.

Harry didn't even realize he was now lying next to the blonde, and he grabbed his contact case and removed the contacts from his eyes before settling down next to Draco. He was nearly asleep when an arm wrapped instinctively around him. He groggily looked up at Draco and noticed how peaceful he looked when he was sleeping, Harry couldn't help but get the same bubbly feeling he felt when with Severus. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep in Draco's arms with his head resting against the blonde's shoulder, the last thought through his mind:

_How the hell will I explain this to Severus?_

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Draco groggily blinked his eyes open as the morning sun shone in through the window, many times brighter after reflecting off the snow. He felt content and warm, but he was confused as to why he couldn't feel his right arm. Casting his eyes he found that Harry's head was lying on his arm, and while Harry was obviously awake, still had his eyes closed in worried thought. Draco shifted a little, not entirely comfortable waking up lying with his arm around his crush's boyfriend.

Harry's eyes opened and he made some expression between a smile and grimace, "Morning, Draco."

"How the hell did this happen?" Draco asked as Harry sat up, freeing Draco's arm so he could sit up too.

"It was late… well, technically early… we were both tired, and just sort of fell asleep." Harry was sitting with his legs crossed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "We have to tell Severus about this."

"No we don't." Draco contradicted quickly, "I mean, nothing happened."

"We do, first of all, you love him, second of all, I'm dating him and fell asleep in your arms, and you put your arms around _me._ I'm not sure what's going on, but Sev has to be part of this." Harry said before standing up and sighing, "And you can't leave here wearing the same clothes you were wearing yesterday. It looks suspicious."

"Nothing happened," Draco said quietly, and Harry quirked and eyebrow.

"I doubt anyone will believe us." Harry proceeded to get clothes out of his trunk and disappeared into the bathroom without a word. Draco just sat numbly on the bed as the memories of the night before began rushing back to him and just thought without registering anything around him.

"I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good." Harry said breaking Draco out of his trance.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting you clothes, well, to be more specific, I'm getting your password." Harry said looking at a piece of parchment.

"How?" Draco stood and looked over Harry's shoulder to see an accurate map of Hogwarts, specifically the corridor with his rooms.

"It's the Marauder's map, it was made by my dad, Sirius, Remus and Peter. It shows every part of Hogwarts, everyone in Hogwarts, all the secret passages, and if you tap on passworded doors, it shows the password needed." Harry tapped on the door to his rooms, and it appeared, "Really Draco, Kalle?"

Draco rolled his eyes as Harry left, and sat on the bed while waiting for Harry to return and continued to think about the night before. Harry only took a few minutes and handed Draco a set of clean closed but was confused by the look on Draco's face. Draco finally asked, "Remember what you were doing with my hair last night?"

"Yeah, I know, that was a weird thing for me to do, but at the orphanage I found that it helps a lot of people to calm down. It was strictly out of habit." Harry explained.

"Oh," Draco said casting his gaze aside as he blushed softly, "I… I kind of liked it."

Harry froze, and then closed his eyes. After taking a few deep breaths he quietly said, "Go change, we're talking to Severus now."

(A/N: Sorry, I know it's been nearly a month, I'll try to start updating more frequently. Please review!)


	10. Chapter 10

Severus had woken up happy for the first time in years. Despite getting only five hours of sleep to keep schedule with waking up at six in the morning, he felt it was worth it to stay up until after midnight talking with Harry. Even after six years the boy still managed to amaze him with his selflessness. Regularly working with orphans? With Harry's history, it certainly made sense, but it was an enormous donation of time.

After a quick breakfast, Severus went to finish up the last of the essays that he had made due on the day before break. It was another couple of hours and a large amount of correction marks later, Severus was just finishing as he heard a knock on his room doors. He hadn't been expecting company, but the people in this castle rarely gave warning when they planned on visiting. He stood and crossed to the door and found the most peculiar sight when he opened said door. Harry, looking like he just woke up and hastily put on clothes, holding the collar of his godson, who was dressed hurriedly and looked like he had recently tried to escape the hold Harry.

"Can I help you?" He said eying Draco suspiciously.

"There's something we need to talk about, no matter how much Draco doesn't want to." Harry answered, and pushed Draco in first when Severus motioned for them to come in. It was quite comical, since Harry was both shorter and smaller than Draco.

They all arranged themselves, Draco sitting in the armchair fidgeting, while Harry and Severus took opposite sides of the couch. It was silent for quite a while, Harry giving a look that made it obvious that he wanted Draco to do the talking. Severus was not amused, "Can we get started here?"

"Draco, I believe you should start with the first thing that you told me on Halloween." Harry said a little softer than he had been so far.

Draco seemed overly interested in examining his hurriedly laced shoes, before softly asking, "Sev, did you ever notice that I never dated?"

"I did notice, but it was never my place to question." Severus replied neutrally.

"And that I never seemed interested in any particular girl?" Draco questioned again.

"Yes, I do believe I wondered that on an occasion or two." Severus looked a little impatient, "I assume you are going to tell me why."

"I'm gay," Draco said quietly, but it was easily heard. He wasn't sure what he expected to happen, after all, his godfather was gay. He wasn't expecting it to be so readily accepted though.

"Thank you for telling me, though I am suspicious as to why you told Potter before me." Severus said with a shrug, as if it was no big deal.

"Well, I would have told you, but there's more to it." Draco took a deep breath, but no words came out of his mouth, he just sat there looking miserable.

"Either you tell him, or I'm going to tell him for you." Harry said softly, but there was doubt that he would follow though with the threat.

Draco refused to look his godfather in his eyes as he spoke, "I didn't tell you because… I'm in love with you."

It was quiet for a full minute, and Harry could see that Severus was too shocked to show any kind of emotion. Meanwhile, Draco was silently trying not to have an emotional breakdown. Severus sighed quietly, "How long?"

"What?" Draco asked, having barely heard the question.

"How long have you… been interested in me?" Severus clarified.

"Since I was fifteen." Draco answered.

"And you never said anything?"

"How was I supposed to?" Draco asked, looking his godfather in the eye, "If it hadn't been for father, I never would have known you were gay in the first place. Besides, in most cases, student teacher relationships aren't allowed. And despite the fact that father gave his blessing, you're still my godfather, we're family. And that's not even mentioning the age gap. How was I supposed to tell you I loved you when it was considered wrong in so many ways?"

Severus held his hand out to Draco, who hesitated slightly before holding the man's hand. Severus squeezed the boy's hand, "If I had known, I never would have agreed to marry Harry. I would have waited until you were out of school, but I would have been able to accept you despite everything else."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, his ex-husband and current boyfriend was more or less accepting a declaration of love from the man he slept with the night before. As the two pulled their hands away from each other, Harry spoke, "I'm glad we have that all squared away, because that isn't everything we came to tell you,"

Severus turned his attention to Harry, "And that would be?"

"Draco was in my rooms when I got back last night wanting to know how our meeting had gone. Seeing as he's been in love with you for years, he was rather distressed when I told him we were together again. I couldn't just let him leave miserable, so we talked and…" Harry paused to take a deep breath, "And we ended up both falling asleep on my bed."

Severus didn't even react, half expecting it to be a joke, half knowing he was going to get a better description than that.

"He was calming me down, I started falling asleep, and when we woke up, my arm was around his waist." Draco explained.

"But nothing actually happened?" Severus asked.

"No," Draco answered quickly and received a glare from Harry.

"Well, nothing sexual happened, but something did happen. Draco said that he liked my running my hands through his hair felt nice, and since he was blushing, I can only assume his thoughts weren't entirely innocent." Harry said and then averted his eyes from the two men, "And I have to admit that I am not averse to his presence."

Draco and Severus both shared a confused look before looking back to Harry, and Severus asked, "Are you proposing a threesome?"

"I never said that," Harry said stubbornly as he looked back to the other men, "I'm just saying, Draco and I both love you, you love both of us, and Draco and I are, to say the least, attracted to each other."

"Do you think we could make that work?" Draco asked.

"I see no reason why we wouldn't be able to at least give it a try. I'm willing." Severus stated, and the two younger boys agreed after a short period of reluctance.

They spent the next few hours discussing just how they would make it work…

-

(A/N: I'm SO sorry about the delay, between school, holidays and starting a birthday fic for one of my friends, things have gotten a little crazy. Please review, I want to know what you think!)


	11. Chapter 11

The Winter break passed all too quickly, the three men staying close together, getting infinitely closer. It hadn't taken long for their relationship to become sexual, and from there things had just seemed natural. The rest of the staff figured things out pretty quickly, which could easily be blamed on the fact that Harry and Draco blushed far too easily for their own good. However, as classes began again, they were better at hiding. Many students were suspicious about there being some sort of relationship by any two of the three, but hadn't considered all three of them being together. Harry and Draco had gladly returned to being Professors Mason Reed and Nathaniel Finch.

That's not to say that everything was perfect. Draco would often get jeolous of the other two's long standing relationship and would keep to himself for a night, which would end in either Severus or Harry cornering him and snogging him until he realized they loved him. Severus would occasionally just get grumpy, and Harry would just sort of space out and disappear for hours without reason. In fact, it was one such occasion mid-April that brought alarm to his lovers.

"Anyone seen Harry?" Draco asked once entering the teacher's lounge, and frowned when everyone shook their heads, "Shit,"

"How long has he been gone?" Minerva asked.

"Last time anyone saw him was on Friday." Draco informed them. It was Sunday afternoon.

"Did you check the Shrieking Shack?" Bill asked.

"The what?" Draco asked, frustrated at the disappearance of one of his boyfriends. Bill quickly explained just where the Shrieking Shack was and how to get in. Draco was gone as soon as the Weasley had finished and ignored the students who gave him strange looks as he ran across the school grounds. After using magic to hit the knot on the whomping willow, he went through the passageway and into the old house. It was silent, and Draco kept his wand out, though he wasn't quite sure what use he could possibly put it to.

Sure enough, the small black haired man was sitting in the window directly across from the door to the passageway. Draco relaxed and kneeled next to him, holding the other's hand. Harry jumped and relaxed when he saw that it was just Draco, "What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you, you've been gone for two days." Draco said softly.

"I have? Sorry about that." Harry blushed, but made no move to stand, seemingly comfortable in the brisk April air that looked like it could rain at any moment.

"So, why were you out here in the first place?" Draco asked.

"Well, it's… it's nothing." Harry answered, and Draco simply raised an eyebrow in response, "Well, it doesn't matter, I just needed to think for a while."

Draco raised his hand and rested it against Harry's forehead, "You have a fever, you shouldn't have been out here, it's too cold."

"I'm fi-" Harry was cut off by his own sneeze. Draco stood and pulled Harry up as well. Without a word, he took off his cloak and settled it over Harry's shoulders, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"I'm taking you to go see Poppy,"

"No," Harry argued, "I'll go se her in the morning, but for now I want to be with you and Sev."

Draco sighed, knowing that if he looked at his boyfriend's face he wouldn't be able to refuse. So what was the point in trying to? He lead them back to Sev's, well, technically their rooms. The older man looked relieved to see Harry back and hugged him before making sure he was okay. Severus was on the verge of sending Harry to Poppy as well, but was cut short when Harry nuzzled his neck and said that he'd go in the morning, but he just wanted to be in their arms for the night. Needless to say, Draco and Severus were far too distracted for the rest of the night to think about the slight fever that Harry had.

-

As promised, Harry went to go see Poppy during his free period the next morning. She took his temperature and did a few scanning spells, and was truly alarmed with what she found. She pulled the curtains around the bed for privacy after retrieving a fever reducer potion. She sighed, "Well, your fever is nothing, but I'm sorry to say-"

"I already know." Harry said evenly before meeting her sad gaze, "I've been feeling odd for about a month, so I went to get a check up from an old friend of mine. I found out on Friday."

Poppy held back tears, "Who all knows?"

"You, me and my friend." Harry answered, "I'd like it to stay that way."

Poppy looked like she was about to argue, but bit her tongue as she searched for words. She took a deep breath, "I won't tell a soul, but you should tell Draco and Severus. They deserve to know. I wish I could do something."

"A few months ago you may have been able to, but there weren't any signs back then. There never are," Harry cast his eyes away, "I'm sorry you had to find out like this. If you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach."

Poppy watched the young man she had seen grow up walk away, feeling utterly helpless. True, there was one experimental treatment out there, but the last patient had screamed his was to death. This way, it would be a reasonably painless death for Harry.

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Harry, now Professor Reed walked into his sixth year NEWT class two minutes late, the whole class of Gryffindors and Slytherins sitting and chatting quietly. He put on a smile, ignoring the concerned looks at his tired appearance. He pulled a stack of parchment from his desk, "Sorry I'm late, I know you were all excited to get to the test on advanced charms theory."

The class groaned, as expected, but pulled out ink and quills and started the test without further complaint. Harry began organizing the tests his third years had taken the previous periods. With just over a month until finals, this was a review test, which was to show his students what they needed to work on, and would base the last few weeks on the result on the test. Which, more or less, meant that he would spend the next week or two correcting all the tests, and then answering questions until final exams were over.

With thirty minutes left in the period, students began turning in tests, noticing that their teacher was hardly paying attention. Ten minutes later they called his attention to the fact that everyone was finished with the test. He shuffled the tests into his bag with the tests from the other class, happy with the answers he glanced at, "Looks like everyone is doing fairly well."

"That's because you're a great teacher," A girl said from the back of the class, and the class quickly agreed.

He blushed, "I'm not that great-"

"Don't deny it professor." A boy from the back of the class interrupted, "You're a bloody brilliant teacher, and I've learned more about charms in this year than I have in the previous five years, and you made it simple. I can't wait 'til next year."

Harry's face fell at the last sentence.

"You are teaching again next year, right Professor?" Another girl asked.

"I'm sorry Melanie, everyone," He chewed his lip softly, "But I will not be returning next year."

The room was silent before another student asked, "Why not? You're a great teacher."

Harry looked around at all the disappointed faces, and he felt his heart wrench. He briefly wondered how they would take his death, and had to quickly wipe a tear that was starting in his eye, "Trust me, I would love to continue teaching here. However, due to personal issues, I won't be able to come back next year."

An awkward silence ensued, broken by the bell ringing that ended class. The class stood quietly and left slowly, a couple students giving him hugs, which was probably because he still looked to be on the verge of crying. Harry sat on his desk and thought about all the people he would be leaving behind, and how hurt they would be. That's when the gravity of the situation hit him, and there, sitting alone in his classroom during lunch, he began to cry.

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(A/N: Well, that was kind of sad… The first to figure out what disease Harry has will win some small prize(and yes, you do have to be fairly specific). Tell me what you think.)


	12. Chapter 12

It was three days later in the evening when Severus and Draco seemed to realize something was wrong. For what was going to be the third night in a row, Harry had gone from dinner straight to his rooms instead of spending time with Severus and Draco. With this in mind they walked up to Harry's personal rooms, and Draco went to push open the door. He frowned when it didn't budge, he tried again with the same result, "Did he lock his door?"

"Let me try, he's never locked his door," Severus said, and tried the door, which other than making noise as the knob turned from side to side, did nothing. He then knocked on the door. For a full minute there was no sound, and worried, they tried an unlocking spell. The door opened with ease.

Harry didn't even look up from a large stack of essays and tests he was working through as they walked in. He jumped when Severus gently put a hand on his shoulder, "What are you doing here?"

"We came to check up on you, and were worried when you didn't answer the door." Severus explained.

Harry gave a half smile, "Sorry, I put a silencing spell up because Bill was holding a dueling practice in the corridor earlier, I must've forgotten to take it off."

"Well, let's get you out of here, you can't stay locked up for so long." Draco said grabbing Harry's hand with the intention of pulling him from the room, but Harry refused to move.

"Sorry, but I really have to get this done," Harry said, lowering his eyes to the floor.

"You can do it this weekend," Draco reasoned.

"I have a meeting at the ministry on Friday, Saturday I'm helping Bill all morning with a dueling club exercise, and I have tutoring in the afternoon. Sunday I have promised the quidditch team to watch practice and give them some tips for the match next week, and have to talk with Minerva, and I don't expect it to be a short visit." Harry listed off, looking exhausted.

"What about tomorrow? Friday?" Draco asked.

"It's going to take me tonight and tomorrow to finish this, and then Friday… Friday I can't do anything." Harry said, really hoping they would leave Friday alone.

"What's going on on Friday?" Severus asked.

Harry sighed, "A doctor's appointment."

"For what?" Draco asked, "Are you sick?"

Harry looked at them, Draco animatedly worried, Severus looked suspicious. His eyes fell to the ground again, "Yeah, don't worry about it though."

"Why didn't you tell us you were sick?" Severus asked in a stern tone.

"It's not a big deal, I didn't want you to worry." Harry shrugged.

"I know you better than that," Severus said, and Harry looked up alarmed, "When it's nothing you would either go to me or Poppy and get a potion that would make you better. You only hide what's wrong when it's important. If I recall, the last time you didn't tell me something because you didn't want me to worry, you'd been dueling and all the bones in your left arm had shattered. What's wrong?"

Harry took a ragged breath, "On Friday I'm finding out how long I have to live."

Harry wiped his eyes with the palm of his hand as his boyfriends were frozen in shock. He felt two arms wrap around him and lift him from the chair, but didn't have the will to argue with being picked up at the moment. Within a minute he was lying on his bed crying as he was held by the other two.

Harry fell asleep quickly, curled into Severus' chest. Severus looked at Draco who seemed to be trying not to deal with the fact that Harry was going die at the moment. He got a determined look on his face, "You take care of him, I'll finish grading for him."

Severus got a weird look on his face, "You'll do that for him?"

Draco nodded as he took Harry's place at the desk, "Harry got me with you, I'd do just about anything to repay that. Besides, he obviously has an asymptomatic terminal illness. The only ones I know of, the first signs are exhaustion and occasionally insomnia. He needs to sleep, and he has enough to do without grading schoolwork."

"I could help as well," Severus offered.

Draco laughed, "What did his students do to deserve that?"

-

(A/N: First of all, I know the chapter is short, but I'm going to try to post short chapters every week or so. Also, guesses on what the illness is are too general. As a clue, it IS some kind of Luekemia. If you have the time, please review!)


	13. Apologies, all

Dear followers,

I am sorry to inform that this story will not be completed. I began writing it before two close family friends were diagnosed with cancer. One died about a month ago, the other has been given less than six months to live. Due to the unexpected connection to the subject matter, I find myself unable to continue.

-SlytherinsScribe


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